Scriabin - Sonata no.7, op.68 'White Mass'

[andhow04]

this live performance of sonata 7 was from last month. i heard a lot of recordings of this sonata but didn't really understand it until i studied and played it. for me the best performance is Volodos in Vienna.

i would say this is one of the most difficult things to learn, the harmonic system is very dense, the form is labyrinthine, and the spatial use of the keyboard is maddening. learning this piece, was like lifting a heavy boulder. that said the actual physical technical challenges are not like Sonata no.5 or no.8.

there are also a lot of very interesting analyses of this piece out there, including a llecture-performance on Youtube and an article by now notorious theorist Philip Ewell.

you can also search the piano forum archives and find a great performance by Koji Attwood.

i played two wrong notes in the ferocious opening page, but i was consoled that almost everyone does in live recordings, so decided to share it ! 

[frodo3]

Congratulations on a fine performance of this difficult work!!  What I like about you as a pianist: You play a very diversified repertory from Bach and earlier all the way up to the ultra-modern and EVERYTHING between – and you play it ALL very well with sensitivity and understanding.  Also, you continue to grow as a pianist – always playing new things.  Some pianists choose to just play a very small subset of the classical piano literature and end up stagnating in a pool of slop.

I wish you the best of luck with your piano career and I look forward to hearing more performances!

[andhow04]

thanks for the kind comments, yes i want to be able to play anything that attracts me, this was definitely one of the hardest of all. it's strange because the piao technique itself is not outrageous, but it's the whole organization of it that is mind boggling. anyways thanks for listening

[furtwaengler]

Really quite extraordinary. I appreciate the clarity of your vision. I appreciate how deeply you've delved into it. I remember a teacher who wanted to take me away from all recordings. Maybe at that stage I was imitating and emulating. Maybe there is something to be said for authentically allowing the score to speak with no interference; however, to do no research on how others have approached a score, and cutting oneself off from performance practice is just insane. I think a mature artist gets more creative the more they hear; ideas bounce off ideas, and out pops your own particular voice. That kind of research is fun, valuable, and increases the variety and uniqueness of the artist undergoing it. Okay, I'm off my soapbox.

Thank you for arpeggiating the whole "chord." I really don't like when people take it in blocks and chunks, and pretend they can lay the whole thing down. If you built a mould that would play just that one chord, it would still never approach the effect of an arpeggiated blast. I remember the first time I heard a certain live Richter performance from the mid 60's, and he hit that arpeggio at the end so violently it uprooted me like a tornado uprooting a tree. Such a force, I can never go back, and have a hard time seeing it any other way.

I'll be listening more, and seeking out what else you've had going on.

[andhow04]

Really quite extraordinary. I appreciate the clarity of your vision. I appreciate how deeply you've delved into it. I remember a teacher who wanted to take me away from all recordings. Maybe at that stage I was imitating and emulating. Maybe there is something to be said for authentically allowing the score to speak with no interference; however, to do no research on how others have approached a score, and cutting oneself off from performance practice is just insane. I think a mature artist gets more creative the more they hear; ideas bounce off ideas, and out pops your own particular voice. That kind of research is fun, valuable, and increases the variety and uniqueness of the artist undergoing it. Okay, I'm off my soapbox.

Thank you for arpeggiating the whole "chord." I really don't like when people take it in blocks and chunks, and pretend they can lay the whole thing down. If you built a mould that would play just that one chord, it would still never approach the effect of an arpeggiated blast. I remember the first time I heard a certain live Richter performance from the mid 60's, and he hit that arpeggio at the end so violently it uprooted me like a tornado uprooting a tree. Such a force, I can never go back, and have a hard time seeing it any other way.

I'll be listening more, and seeking out what else you've had going on.

thanks for the kind words, i wil have to find that particular richter recording. there seem to be a few of his sonata no.7. for me listening always gives new ideas, but anything i do, i want to be able to explain it myself, so i don't think i fall under too much influence. as long as we can justify what we do i say listen away. that said there are many young people out there who fall under the Gould charisma or whatnot.

 i will have another go at this Sonata 7, on April 16 (Orthodox Easter). as well as Sonata 9 and Vers la flamme. the beginning is quite dangerous, i'd like to get it better.

thanks again for lsitening to this unusual piece